Apparatus for supporting and carrying into or withdrawing from ovens articles to be fired or burned.



, No.. 662,]6l. I mm Nov. 20, [900.

E. w. BALL, L. E. VACHERON & F. H. Luca. APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTINGAND CARRYING INTO 0R WITHDRAWING FROM OVENS (Application filed Feb. 20, 1900.]

(No Model.)

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Edward "(Ball Louis .E. Vwizaanl N WN TERS co. wmuuwo" wAsHmaTO (No Model.)

WITNE' SES' E. W. BALL, L. E. VACHERUN &. F. APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING AND CARRYING INTO OR WITHDRAWING FROM OVENS ARTICLES TO BE FIRED DR BURNED.

(Application filed Feb. 20, 1900.)

Patented H. LUCE.

Nov. 20, I900;

2 SheetsSheet '2.

Darren STATES EDWARD W. BALL, LOUIS E. VACHERON, AND FRANCIS H. LUCE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO THE LALANCE do GROSJEAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING AND CARRYING INTO OR WITHDRAWING FROM OVENS ARTICLES TO BE FIRED R BURNED.

SPECIFICATION forming part'of Letters Patent N 0. 662,161, dated November 20, 1900.

Application filed February 20, 1900. Serial No. 5,903. (No model.)

To (Ll l whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD W. BALL, LoUIs E. VACHERON, and FRANCIS H. LUCE, citizens of the United States, and residents of New York, (Wood Haven,) borough of Queens, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Supporting and Carrying into or \Vithdrawing from Ovens Articles to be Fired IO or Burned, of which the followingis a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of our said apparatus, and Fig. 2 a top view thereof.

Similar letters and n u merals designate similar parts in each of the two figures.

The object of our invention is, among others, to substitute mechanical for manual agencies in the support, movement, entry into, and withdrawal from ovens of articles inserted in the so-called biscuit condition and withdrawn after firingas, for instance, steel or wrought-iron coated with enamel and to that end provide in lieu of the carrier-forks hitherto uncomfortably, inconveniently, and uncertainly manipulated, lifted, inserted into, and withdrawn from the ovens Ioy unassisted man-power an apparatus actuated at comparatively small expense of phys- 0 ical power with greatly enhanced convenience and com fort, accuracy, speed, and effectiveness, whereby not only is a better article more frequently and unfailingly produced, but the strength and efficiency of the operator 5 are protected and preserved.

The aforesaid objects of our invention are secured by the apparatus which we will now describe.

F designates the interior of any ordinary 4o burning or firing oven, such as will be well understood without being more fully depicted or described than by suggestions contained in Fig. 1to wit, a foundation D of stone surmounted by a kiln or oven-wall of brick C B,

within which is contained an opening E for the ingress and egress of the articles to be fired, such opening being usually provided with a door closing on the outside and not here shown and provided with the usual racks (not shown) for supporting the frames P P.

R is a double-rack carrier-frame or carousel rigidly secured by set-screw m n to the vertical shaft or axis S, with which it revolves horizontally, the lower extremity of the shaft resting upon and supported by the suitablysupported fixed bearing-block T,within which the shaft rotates, and its upper part turning in the bearingo in the fixed su pporting-frame K, by which it is maintained in upright position. The carousel is constructed out of any material possessing requisite rigidity and strength-say, for instance, iron or steel and is preferably provided with vertical and horizontal braces 10 11 12 12 12" 12' 14, 850., to further insure these desirable qualities. A characteristic feature of the carousel consists in its two pairs of suspended parallel supporter-bars L L and L L all parallel with each other and one pair located on either side of the shaft. Across the space between each pair of. these parallel supporter-bars and resting thereon at each end are laid the removable supporting-frames P P, Fig. 1, and a top view of another of which in a different location is illustrated by P, Fig. 2. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the number of these frames used will depend upon the requirements of each occasion and is limited only by the space available upon the parallelsupporter-bars. Upon these will be placed the articles to be fired, HJ, Fig. 1, (not shownin Fig. 2,) either directly or upon intervening Well-understood tripod-frames N N, Fig. 1. One side of the carouselthat is, one pair of the parallel supporter-bars, preferably that pair at the time being not opposite the door of the ovenmay be thus loaded with a charge of articles for firingand when all is ready the carousel turned a onehalf revolution, which will bring that pair of the parallel supporter-bars with their load opposite the door of the oven. The lifting of the articles,together with their supportingtripods and frames, off of the parallel supporter-bars and their conveyance into the 5 furnace, subsequent withdrawal therefrom after firing, and restoration to their original position upon the parallel supporter-bars are eifected by that portion of our apparatus which we will now describe.

I; b are a pair of vertically and horizontally movable parallel fingers adapted to be lifted up between and through each pair of the aforesaid parallel supporter-bars, thereby lifting off of the latter and charging upon themselves the latters load of supporterframes, tripods, articles, 850. Each of said fingers is at its rear end rigidly secured to the two upper arms of one of a pair of fourarmed braces, a side View of one of which is shown by W, Fig. 1, and partial top views of that and its mate by dotted lines to w, Fig. 2. These four-armed braces to w are rigidly secured to each other by the transverse bolt 7', provided with interior shoulders (not shown) to limit inward movement and with exterior washers and nuts operating upon the screw-threaded extremities of the bolt to limit outward motion, the said combination of the fingers b b, braces w w, and transverse bolt 0" constituting what is hereinafter referred to as the fork. Between the upper arms of the four-armed braces to w is secured an axle .9, upon which rotates a pair of wheels or pulleys 25 t Upon each of the lowest arms of the four-armedbraces w w is mounted a wheel or pulley u it.

c, Fig. 1, is a brace connected with each of the two lower arms of the four-armed brace w. A similar corresponding brace (not shown) likewise similarly connects and strengthens the two lowest arms of the four-armed brace 10'. One pair of the wheels or pulleys t t travel upon the upper surface of a pair of supporting-rails ct ct and the under pairof pulleys u a roll along against theunder sides of said rails. Each pair of pulleys being so supported as to preclude the possibility of approaching each other, it will beobserved that the weight of the load upon the fingers Z) Z), tending to force their front extremities downward, is counteracted by the grip of the under pulleys against the bottoms of the rails, and is thus transferred to four instead of two bearing-surfaces in such a manner asto secure enhanced steadiness of motion during horizontal movement backward or forward as required. This horizontal movement along the rails is conveyed to the fork-fingers and aforesaid parts connected therewith by turning by means of the crank 15, Fig. 2, a sprocketwheel 17, rotating at one end of said track,

, which will cause the endlesschain 16, engaging with said sprocket 17, and a corresponding sprocket-wheel 17', rotating at the opposite extremity of the track, to move backward or forward, according to the direction of rotation. The bolt 0 of the fork is connected whereby the fork with its load, track, and other connected parts, as aforesaid,are raised, so as to lift the load 01f of the parallel supporter-bars of the carousel or horizontallyrevolving rack. The tracks a ct are mounted upon and rigidly secured to verticallymovable guiding and supporting frames or supporters 2 2 3 3', terminating downward in guiding legs or extremities which pass through apertures in the floor Aand by contacting with the inner edges of said apertures serve to guide the upward and downward movements of the tracks. Each of said guiding and supporting frames is provided with a roller 10 k k" (the two latter indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2) on a stud rigidly secured to a projection from the guiding-frame in such a position as to coact with a corresponding camlever 4 4.-' 4 45". These camlevers are actuated as follows: They are each rigidly secured to a rock-shaft, 4 4" to the rock-shaft d, 4 4 to the rock-shaft d, and these rockshafts are caused to rotate as follows: To the rock-shaft d is rigidly secured the hand-lever e. Pivotally con nected at one of its extremities with the lower part of said lever eis the link f, whose opposite extremity is pivotally connected with the end of a crankarm n, rigidly secured to the rock-shaft 9. There is also upon said rock-shaft 9, rigidly secured thereto, a two-armed crank g, the lower arm only of which appears in Fig. 1, the upper arm being concealed by the crankarm n. To one of the lower extremities of said double crank-arm g is pivotally connected one end of a link h, the other end of said link being hinged to the free extremity of a crank-arm 'm', the opposite extremityof which is rigidly secured to the rock-shaft d. The other or upper arm of the two armed crank g is likewise pivotally connected with one end of a link 'i, the other end of which is hinged to one end of the crank-arm m, the opposite end of which is rigidly secured to the rock-shaft d.

5 5 5 5 are counterweights secured near the extremities of the compensating levers 7 7, rigidly secured to the rock-shaft d, and 7 7', rigidly secured to the rock-shaft cl. As will be seen, the counterweights 5 5, &c., are strung upon their respective levers, so as to be movable up and down the same, and are secured in position wherever desired thereon by a set-screw, as will be well understood. In this way they may be adjusted so as to compensate exactly. They should be of sufficient weight to balance when at the extrernity of either lever the greatest weight to be lifted by and with the tracks.

The operation of ourinvention is asfollows: The articles having been charged upon one side of the revolving rack orcarousel, asalready described, the latter is swung around so as to bringthat charge opposite to the ovendoor. A slight exertion of power will then be sufficient to depress the lever 12, when, by reason of the combination and functions of the parts described, the tracks will be lifted, raising the fork with them until the parts affected attain their limit of upward vertical movement, when they will assume the respective positions suggested by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, (excepting only the dotted outlines of the fork and its connected parts, as shown by the dotted lines thereof at the left of the drawing.) As has been already explained, the raising of the fork causes its fingers to lift onto themselves and off of the parallel supporter-bars L L the load previously charged upon the latter. The door of the oven being open, rotation of the crank 15 will actuate the sprocket-wheel 17, move the endless chain, and so cause the fork with its load to advance horizontally into the oven until the articles to be fired are introduced therein. The tracks and fingers are then, by reversing lever e, depressed until the supporting-framesP P and their loads encounter and rest upon the fixed racks in the oven, (not shown,) and the fingers are retracted from the oven by rotating the crank 15. The door of the oven may be then closed, the articles allowed to remain within the oven as long as required, the door opened, the fingers again advanced into the oven and under the loads, lifted and retracted bearing the latter, the articles withdrawn by again rotating the crank in the opposite direction and restored, by again reversing the lever c, to their original positions upon the parallel supporter-bars of the carousel or horizontal swinging rack, and by rotating the latter brought again out of alinement with the entrance to the oven and into their original positions, whence they may be conveniently removed while the operations aforesaid are repeated on a fresh load, which was being charged meanwhile upon the other pair of supporter-bars.

It will be observed that our imposed apparatus affords facility in loading and unloading and steadiness in moving the articles to be fired, danger of undesirable jars being practically eliminated, and also that it red uces to a minimum the exertion and exposure to heat required of the operator.

It will be understood that without departing from our invention the number of supporting-bars may be increased, likewise the number of the lifting-fingers, also any mechanical equivalents substituted for the particular devices for imparting the required movements.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following, viz:

1. For moving articles toward, in, out of, and away from ovens or furnaces, the combination of a set of movable parallel supporterbars and means to horizontally rotate the same and their loads into and out ofalinement with the door of the oven, a vertically and horizontally movable fork provided with a set of supporting-fingers to rise vertically past the said supporter-bars and lift their load, and movable horizontally into and out of the oven and downwardly to restore their load to said supporter-bars and means for producing such vertical and horizontal movemenis substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. For moving articles toward, in, out of, and away from ovens or furnaces a pair of parallel supporter-bars carrying such articles, means to swing said supporter-bars and their load horizontally into alinement with the door of such oven or furnace, a fork having a pair of fingers, means to elevate said fingers vertically past and above said supporterbars, and so lift said load, and means to move said fork and fingers so loaded horizontally forward into the oven, and backward out of it, means to depress said fingers below said supporter-bars to restore said load to the latter and means to swing back said supporterbars and their load to the point of beginning, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. The combination of a horizontally-rotating rack or carrier having supporter-bars, with a vertically and horizontally movable fork having'fingers, said bars and fingers being mutually interlocated, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. The combination of a forked carrier having fingers b b and means to move the same backward and forward horizontally and also means to move the same vertically, and a horizontal swinging rack having two pairs of supporter-bars L L and L L substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. The combination of a horizontally-rotating rack or carrier having a set of supporter-bars with a vertically and horizontally movable fork having a set of fingers, substantially as and for the purposes described.

6. The combination of a horizontally-rotating rack or carrier having parallel supporter-bars L L and L L with a vertically and horizontally movable fork having parallel fingers Z) l) substantially as and for the purposes described.

7. A horizontally and vertically movable fork consisting of a carriage w 'r w and parallel horizontal supporting-fingers b b said carriage being provided with upper wheels ti and under wheels to u in combination with tracks a a, an endless chain 16, sprocketwheels 17 and 17 and a crank 15, substantially as and for the purposes described.

8. The combination of a horizontally-movable wheeled carriage w r 10 carrying horizontal fingers b b with bearing-rails a a provided with guiding-frames 2 2' 3 3 cam-levers 4 4 4" 4 and means for actuating said cams to raise and lower said guiding-frames and their connections, substantially as and for the purposes described.

9. The combination of a carrier-fork having carrier-fingers b b and Wheels 25 t u u with rails Ct a mounted on guiding and supporting frames 2 2 3 3 cam-levers 4 4' 4 4' rock-shafts d d 9 an operating-lever e, crankarms 91 m m g and links connectingthe said crank-arms, substantially as and forthe purposes described.

lO. The combination of a carrier-forkhaving carrier-fingers b b and wheels 15 i act with rails at a mounted on guiding and supporting frames 2 2' 3 3 cam-levers 4 4 4 4, rock-shafts d d 9, an operating-lever e, crankarms n m m g and links connecting the said crank-arms and lever and also compensating levers '7 7 7 7 having movable counterweights 5 5 5 5 substantially as and for the purposes described.

11. The combination of a horizontally-mow able carrier or carousel rotating around a shaft 3 and having parallel supporter-bars L L L L with a vertically and horizontally movable fork consisting of a carriage composed of four-armed braces w 10 connected by a bolt 7' provided with upper running wheels 11 u and horizontal parallel fingers b b, a pair of tracks aa connected with guiding and su pporting frames 2 2 3 3, an endless chain 16, sprocket-wheels 17 17 cam-rollers 70 k 70 k rock-shaft. d provided with cam-levers 4 4", crank-arm m rock-shaft d having cam-levers 4 4" crank-arm m actuating-lever e, rockshaft 9 havingcrank-arms n g and links connecting the said crank-arms and actuatinglever, substantially as and for the purposes described.

12. The combination of a horizontally-movable carrier or carousel rotating around a shaft sand having parallel supporting-bars L L L L with a vertically and horizontally movable fork consisting of a carriage composed of four-armed braces w w connected by a bolt 7' provided with upper running wheels it and under running wheels u u and horizontal parallel fingers b b, a pair of tracks a a connected with guiding and supporting frames 2 2 3 3, an endless chain 16, sprocketwheels 17 17 cam-rollers 7c is k k rock-shaft (1 provided with cam-levers 4: 4 crank-arm m, compensating lever 7 having movable counterweight 5, rock-shaft (1 having cam-levers 4 4 crank-arm m actuating-lever e having compensating lever 7 and counterweight 5,

crank-arm m, actuating-lever e, rock-shaft 9.

fingers and a body portion, the latter provided with a pair of overrunning wheels and also a pair of under running wheels, a pair of horizontal parallel tracks over and under which said pairs of Wheels respectivelytravel, means to propel said fork backward and for: Ward horizontally along said tracks and means to lift and depress said tracks vertically, substantially as-and for the purposes described. r

14. The combination of a horizontally-movable carrier or carousel rotating around the shaft 8 and having parallel supporter-bars. L L with a vertically and horizontally movable fork consisting of parallel horizontal fingers b b and a body provided with upper running and under running wheels, tracks upon and under which said wheelsrespectively run, supports for said tracks provided with rollers k k rock-shaft d provided with cam-lever at crank-arm m rock-shaft d havingcam-lever 4 crank-arm m actuating-lever e rock-shaft 9 having crank-arms m g and links connecting the said crank-arms and actuatingrlever, substantially as and for the purposes described.

EDWARD W. BALL. LOUIS E. VACHERON. FRANCIS H. LUCE.

Witnesses:

F. H. GoRWIN, GEO. E. DE RONDE. 

